All of them in service roles, except for the beatnik party.
But each one was cast with a memorable actor… I identified that busboy by his voice alone, I can still hear the voice of the woman in the ladies room (if those purses get any smaller); Hollis and Sonny–the elevator operators, the janitor who witnessed carnal couch-age, and Carly/Carla. All strong presences. To most of the characters on Mad Men, they are invisible; barely even window dressing as the scenes are set. But Weiner made sure they jumped off the page.
(Grant you, race aside, every bit role in this series seems to be well cast and fully rounded. It’s like, if they decided to go back and focus on any of the characters that have ever had a single line and give them a fuller storyline, they’d have an actor who could well carry it. Any of the other neighbors from Marriage of Figaro. The salesgirl who wouldn’t give cash back for the chip-and-dip. Helen Bishop’s ex-husband.)
Weiner is still being accused, right here, in our own Basketcases’ comments, of neglecting to show more blacks. He’s not neglecting anything. He is being very, very deliberate in his moves. This is a show about a white man’s world, and he is working his way out of that circle. The white women are the next ring out (I’m picturing rings around a planet here; work with me) and then we meet some Jews. We’re getting to the blacks; their story is coming. I do suspect that, as we all hope, we’ll be seeing more of Sheila White. But he’s not going to force it on us. If he had included a black person’s experience trying to be a copywriter in Season One, it would have been too heavy-handed; too preachy.
We’ll get there.
60 Responses to “Season One blacks”
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Brief digression: Oh dear Sidney Poitier, I love that man. Seriously though, I worship him. I think I've seen every single one of his movies, and they were each so important and powerful to me. And since I have a black father and a white mother whose parents were, shall we say, reluctant at the prospect of their union, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was a watershed film in my life, even though most people see that as one of his weakest. I would love to see Sidney Poitier make a MM appearance in some way.
I too am really glad that you've brought up this topic. It's so nice to read these comments- everyone able to talk about this issue in a logical and well thought through way. I've heard a lot of people griping (elsewhere, of course) about the small number of black characters on the show. I'm not surprised, however… As a nation, we've PC'd ourselves to death! Expecting to see equality on a show that takes place in a time where things were definitely not equal is futile. I just wish more people would think like your readers and accept it. I vote we trust Weiner on this one since he's a stickler for detail and accuracy. That's one of the things I love about Mad Men, it's authenticity. It'd be a shame to see him compromise his initial vision and intentions in the name of contemporary political correctness.
Sarah Beth Carlson: Becky has a dance recital. It's so horrible to put girls that fat in a leotard.
Betty: Stop, she'll outgrow it.
Sarah Beth: She did.
The fat theme is the only recurring motif, along with pregnancy, which is a variation on the theme, that I can detect so far this season:
Sara Beth talks about her daughter hoarding dimes, to which Betty says something along the lines of she's watching her weight.
Betty snidely comments about Sally having fruit punch for Valentine's Day.
The guys make jokes about Peggy visiting a fat farm.
Ken jokes about Harry's soon to be fat wife.
Carlton has put on a lot of weight. Betty thinks it's because he's happy, but Don disagrees.
Harry's office mate (is it Mitch?) is fat.
Jimmy makes jokes about Mrs. Schilling.
I think there have been others, but I can't say for sure.
Of course most of the derogatory fat remarks have been directed at the women, while the men receive a pass.
I wonder where they're going with this?
And that, my friend, is a post. Nothing fancy, and pure brilliance.
Seriously, hull, CTRL-C = copy, CTRL-V in a Write window, Save, and that's a wrap.
He is far more graphic in his Jewish insults. Maybe because he himself is Jewish and it is easier to make fun of our own culture. It is hard to criticize a person for slamming their own minority.
I make white trash and fat jokes all the time. But should a skinny chick or other race do it, I would probably get my hackles up.
I think his use of the black actors during the show has been very precise and respectful. It was a sign of the times. They are never really insulted (except for the unfortunate treatment of Paul's girlfriend) And even that was approached and criticized by another character (Paul). They actually come across as the observers of the main characters and they seem to spy the hypocrisy. I also like that Don pretty much treats them as equals (colluding with the elevator men, interviewing the waiter about his cigarette habits.)
There’s a certain vigilance required in antisemitism, because it’s easier for Jews to “pass.” Roger has to ask if they’ve ever hired any Jews, whereas he knows he’s never hired any blacks. The difference is, blacks just don’t get in the front door, but you have to guard the front door against Jews. (And gays, of course, have never gotten in the front door.) That’s why the antisemitism has to be stated aloud.
And sadly, anti-Semitism has been stated aloud in France, the UK, and Poland in just the last month. But that's a thread for another time and place.
Good points, Deborah, the passing issue is a very important distinction.
Since this series is about the Sixties, something tells me that Weiner will be introducing major black characters, sooner or later. One, he has already introduced the Drapers' housekeeper on a semi-regular basis, this season. And two, when some writer brought up the subject that the series might have a regular black character, Weiner nearly had a fit. Apparently, he likes to keep his story developments close to the chest and does not like the idea of spoilers.